How NOTTo RigAn Election

This is a WANGONeT project, sponsored by DFID,in partnership with Group Partners and Equality Foundation.

In Group Partners words...

Ideas are born from a spark – something that throws a new light on given topic, or creates the energy and desire to act, to make a difference. They emerge from the observation of something that doesn’t work; that could be better – or simply just different.

Holding this event was the idea and vision of Tunji Lardner from WANGONeT – his vision and persistence were the catalyst that we hope will ignite many more sparks – across Nigeria – to build on the energy that we experienced on this day.

This brochure tells the story of an event; one that we hope will touch many of the coming months, and one that will be sustained through fundamental change in attitudes and behaviours.

A framework now exists, built from lessons of the past and with a focus on the future. It represents a living system – one that is the responsibility of citizens and indigenes to uphold and honour.

We believe that Nigeria deserves nothing less.

In Tunji’s words...

“The inception of the idea was about two years ago when at yet another conference on Nigeria, the issue of rigging the 2011 elections was again raised.

The predictable low calorie thinking ensued; prosaic nostrums about complex and systemic phenomena.

I raised the issue about taking a serious look back at the 2007 elections to critically examine the hidden pathologies, identify hidden patterns and yes, point out the culprits in the commission of this crime.

Then it struck me that this was actually not unlike the post-mortem investigation of a crime scene in which the victim was the elections.

So the pitch was to think of the idea as an engaging episode of any of the CSI franchise, in which the victim was the 2007 elections and the crime scene was Nigeria. We had to go back, poke around the crime scene looking for latent clues, interview ‘persons of interest,’ examine the corpse of the victim and then go to the crime laboratory to conduct the post mortem investigations before a live audience. It was clear in my mind that the only way we could get people to look at old things differently, was to present them with a newer lens to view old, familiar but really unexamined phenomena.

From Vision to Reality

Through the GP process, we swapped the low-resolution monochromatic lens for a stunning HD lens, and voila, the visual tableau of the seventy-foot wall revealed the patterns, the clues, the system and the modus operandi of ‘How to rig an election’.

Even with the change of title at the behest of our sponsor, to ‘how NOT to rig an election,’ the workshop presented a critical look back at the 2007 elections, that enabled participants to look forward and clearly toward the 2011 elections and beyond.”

The Stage is Set

It took a huge effort to make this event happen – Tunji and his team dedicated many months persuading others to support this vision. The leap of faith that they took, and the belief they had in this process was heavily influenced by supporter and facilitator – Adewale Ajadi

In Adewale’s words...

“The project means a dispassionate and holistic view one of the deep embedded systems that affect Nigerian citizenship. It confirms my hypothesis that the deepest challenge to the Nigerian project is a challenge of organisation and systems that resonate as well as has meaning to work-a-day Nigerians who can stand for it. A system has integrity not because it is protected by rules but because most people adopt it within their custom and norms.

My motivation for supporting and enabling what is actually Tunji’s vision (aside from loyalty) was to test out the hypothesis and see that the issue of complexity and systems does not get drowned in polemics and criticism.

The project fills me with hope that if we can prioritise organisation and systems over the next 10 years we would truly be able to transform from a country of indigenes to a nation of citizens - 150 million empowered, networked creators of value, authentic in their being, inspired by their dreams, connected beyond creed and engaged to deliver excellence.”

And then finally – grateful thanks to DFID for taking that leap with the rest of us!

How NOT To Rig An Election...

Making Rigging HistoryTransformation is tough in any language, but with ingenuity and passion anything can be overcome. This week was the culmination of many people’s dreams and yet but another step on a critical journey. It was inspiring and a great privilege to be even just a small part of it.

A team of close to 200 people assembled to make ‘rigging’ history. To that end they built a ‘Nigerian Electoral System V 2.0 Blueprint’! We must make this turning point the tipping point – by-passing the breaking point.

Imagine!A 70 foot wall of complexity awaits. We have read, analysed, reflected and synthesised over 4 years of frustration, countless reports, looked into the global context and come to understand the ongoing challenges and the daily barriers – the technological and infrastructural realities.

The unspoken thought in everyone’s mind as we went through the day was just how do we keep this going! How do people, wholly representative of an entire nation, bring about a fair and just society? Interesting to note the similarity of that thought – ever present in all of us before embarking on anything – how do I keep it all going?!

The incredible ‘system of thinking’ that the team built is one thing. Tackling the underlying causes and making them end is something else entirely. We cannot underestimate the importance of the intervention, but we can’t overestimate the criticality of sustaining what it means.

Within the various reports and analysis is the case for change. It is difficult to read this work and not be moved to action – to feel frustration and amazement that so many factors conspire in this way to destabilise this system and threaten the healthy evolution of this young democracy. It is very easy to compare this system with other, more mature versions and to look at the evidence through an outsider’s lens.

To really understand, however requires an impartial mind coupled with the forensic rigour that was envisioned at the start of this project. With patience and respect for the context a system emerges – one that is in need of care, attention and rehabilitation. The clues are all there if we choose to see them.

The clues will lead to the answers.

We chose a number of high-level themes and insights that stand out as the catalyst for unpacking the current system so that we can understand what is and isn’t working and how it might better operate within this country.

The Catalyst and Spark

The Catalyst and Spark

The system that emerged before and during the event is both past and future. It takes a very different view of the subject of rigging – a systems view that looks objectively at every aspect of the process and breaks it down into logical interdependent phases from the perspective of different ‘stakeholders’.

The research that had been conducted– primarily through the lensof the 2007 Elections – focused on five stakeholder groups:

1. The Electorate

2. The Politicians

3. The Security Agents

4. The Judiciary

5. The Administration (INEC)

Each stakeholder group has a contribution to make to this system. When a system is failing we are all complicit in different ways – or have the potential to be. Being part of a living system therefore requires appreciation of, and respect for, the multiple moving parts. It is only a system if we are all contributing to the same goal and outcome –

We are all a part of the design and operation of the System.

Nigeria National Pledge:

I pledge to Nigeria my country,To be faithful, loyal and honest,To serve Nigeria with all my strength,To defend her unity,And uphold her honour and glory,So help me God.

Recognising our Role

We chose nine phases for this system, each phase represents a number of events and activities that involves the various stakeholders to varying degrees. While there is a natural sequence to these phases they are not completely linear. Some run in parallel and other overlap significantly. Each one contributes to the next and the actions therefore can affect the subsequent phases, positively or negatively. Many of the implications carry a cumulative effect and add greater complexity to the challenge.

There are a number of components in each of these phases – each has been constructed to the same architecture:

• The Primary purpose of the Phase

• The insights into the weaknesses of the system – based on 2007 Elections

• The potential for complicity in the failure of the system – per stakeholder

• The potential impact on the system

Understanding the System

1. Announcement

In reality the process starts with rumour and debate. Elections are not just suddenly announced and there will be a trigger – it could be expiry of term of a significant destabilising event – whatever the reason there will be activity leading up to an Election announcement that ends with the Announcement/s – the date of the election/s and some information about the process to follow. These are the first opportunities to create a solid foundation for the election.

With well planned and executed communication, clarity of intent and clear direction the effect on the Electorate will be to build understanding and confidence. Engagement is much more likely. The consequence of bad communication and/or readiness is confusion and early cynicism.

2. Registration

Registration is a critical enabler to giving everyone a chance to have their say. This means knowing exactly who is entitled to vote and making sure that they have a chance to mark their ballot paper themselves. It also places a responsibility on every eligible citizen to respect that right and register their intention to vote.

There are many ways that the system can be compromised in this phase and the better the administration of the process the more secure it will be. Ballot papers are not commodities for sale and motivation or incentive to treat them as such should be removed. In turn this means raising the right degree of awareness across a

highly diverse electorate and encouraging them to take this responsibility – while at the same time plugging the gaps in the system that make it possible.

The Primary Purpose of the Phase

4. Canvassing

A chance to connect with the electorate over the issues being promoted and to help them understand how they will be addressed by each party and candidate representing that party.

This is not a time for personal agenda and ambition. Candidates must make it clear what they stand for otherwise there is no motivation to vote – and for those who are motivated there is no way of determining the better candidate.

A manifesto that is clearly and consistently communicated by the party and its candidate should not be a nice thing to have – it is an imperative.

3. Nomination

The electorate needs choice, and to know that the people they most trust to run the country are being put forward as candidates. People will be disinclined to support this system if they have no emotional connection with the nominees.

All parties have the right to be included in the system and to be confident that they will be treated as equally in opposition as they will when in power.

Finally, parties themselves must follow a democratic process of their own when selecting candidates – this must be the person chosen by following the right process, not favoritism or personal agenda driven.

5. Pre-Voting

There are numerous administration activities that will start in parallel with the preceding phases – so that come election day everything is in order and voting can occur safely, securely and with the involvement of everyone who is entitled and motivated to vote.

This is a significant operation that requires timely planning, tight co-ordination and strong management. It involves the movement of equipment across regions, rural and urban. It requires the establishment of secure polling stations and the provision of information so that everyone knows where they go to vote. It depends on the availability of ballot papers and skilled people to manage the process.

Everything has to be tested and have contingency in place. Third parties have to be selected wisely and their contribution managed. Problems have to be anticipated so that there are fallback plans and reactions must be swift when those plans are called on.

6. Voting

By the time voting day arrives everything should be in place and the focus moves to ensuring that nothing impedes the course of democracy. People need to be in place ahead of time so that no one is turned away because the station is not open. And the stations must be open when they say and for as long as they have promised.

No citizen should feel intimidated or in any way discouraged from turning up to place their vote.

7. Collating

Having cast the vote the administration has an obligation to make sure that every vote counts. This means accurate and effective collation of the results along with safe transportation of the ballot boxes to the counting stations. Every ballot paper deserves to find its way into the count fully reflecting the wishes of the voter.

This also requires open declaration of spoiled and destroyed papers so that they can be accounted for in the counting phase.

8. Counting

At this stage there is one fundamental objective – to accurately count the number of votes per candidate. This requires complete objectivity, integrity and total transparency of process. The ballot papers that were completed by the electorate should match the total count in every way.

Being able to validate that the count has been all-inclusive is a key part of the process. That requires all of the processes leading up to the count to have been operating effectively.

9. Declaration

The declaration phase covers the final announcement of the winning party/candidate plus subsequent challenges and petitions. The system is not complete until all stakeholders are in agreement that a fair and democratic process has been followed. Firstly the announcement must be reflective of the actual result – there should be no last minute opportunities to decide to ignore everything that happened till now.

Challenges and petitions that do arise must be dealt with objectively and within a meaningful legal framework – one that represents everything that the system should stand for and one that cannot be corrupted or distorted by individual or party interference.

This type of event had never been staged before. This represented months of work finally coming together and presented in this huge visual framework to

over 100 stakeholders with their own perspectives of the challenge. This was the first time most had seen the wall.

Slowly, over the course of the day we did our detective work – we worked through each phase in turn and validated what we had on the wall

and then discussed in groups what that told us, what we had missed and gave everyone a chance to say what they thought about that phase.

Discussion was animated, participation was complete, everyone had their say. The new insights and observations were added to the wall so that we

honoured the conversations and transferred ownership of the framework from a small core of people to the entire group.

Each table nominated their most critical action to improve the system. Most tables wanted to keep adding!

We captured everything we could but know that there is much more.

Taking Ownership

This is just the Beginning...

“The 2007 state and federal elections have fallen far short of basic international and regional standards for democratic elections….”

“They were marred by poor organization, lack of essential transparency, widespread procedural irregularities, significant evidence of fraud, particularly during the result collation, process, and voter disenfranchisement at different stages of the process, lack of equal conditions for contestants and numerous incidents of violence. As a result, the elections have not lived up to the hopes and expectations of the Nigerian people and process cannot be considered to have been credible.”Political Institutions and Electoral Integrity –Simmons Cooper Partners

The insights that are contained in the following pages – per phase of the process – were either obtained from the research conducted ahead of the event or came from participants at the event.

Everything captured in the framework was validated by the group and is believed to provide a fair representation of the current challenges based on the 2007 Election. Some of these may have actions already in place to correct them for the 2011 Election; we include them in here as a complete perspective of the system as perceived today.

The list below provides the main sources of information and on each page we have included one or more insights from the various papers. You can cross reference through the symbols on this page that are repeated throughout this section.

Final NDI report on Nigerias 2007 Elections

Political Institutions and Electoral Integrity–Simmons Cooper Partners

Coder 2009 – Prof Yemi Osinbajo and David Kangah

How NOT To Rig An Election – highlights on politicians and police ( research)

Reading the Clues I N S I G H T SCOMPLICITY I M P A C T

1. Announcement

“Delays in announcing the electoral calendar and a timetable for electoral preparations caused many political parties, civil society

organisations and citizens to question INEC’s capacity to conduct the 2007 polls. Delays persisted even after the enactment of the Electoral Act 2006, although the Act provides a timetable for the completion of certain election-related activities. Rather than release a single, comprehensive timeline, which would have enhanced

citizen confidence in the process, INEC released limited information intermittently. INEC did not produce a comprehensive election timetable, with firm election dates, until August 2006.”

“Politicians show a disdain for the sovereign will of the people and evince a determination to win at all cost.”

2. Registration

“A series of delays and false starts undermined the voter registration process. Unable to launch voter registration in January 2006 as planned,

INEC eventually began a ‘pilot’ voter registration exercise in the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja) in May.”

“The lack of publicity about the voter registration process caused confusion among prospective voters. INEC rotated machines between offices and was not

able to operate all registration centers. Many people traveled considerable distances to register, but as more registration centres became operative closer to their homes, some of the same individuals re-registered so as to avoid traveling long distances on Election day. In Nigeria, voters must vote where they have registered. In response to this development, INEC announced it would eliminate double registrations, thereby denying the voter any chance to cast a ballot at all.”

3. Nomination

“The most notorious example of this travesty was the case of a man who won the election in one of the Owo constituencies, his NNDP opponent

was declared the victor. He thereupon announced that he had (upon deep reflection) (my own words) decided to join the NNDP. A few days after this announcement, the electoral commissioner declared him the successful candidate and quietly dropped his opponent.”

“Despite an all-party consensus to ensure a free and fair election at a meeting called by the then Prime Minister, all agreements reached were widely breached. The UPGA in sworn affidavits submitted to the President of the Republic showed how the agreements to lift bans on public meetings were breached, how permits for rallies in the North were denied and mass arrests of their candidates and polling agents in the North. Besides, the UPGA showed that the NPC/NNA, had perfected a strategy of getting its candidates returned unopposed by arresting UPGA and other opposition candidates to prevent them from filing their nomination papers within the prescribed time.”

4. Campaigning

“While few parties directly addressed issues of concern to ordinary Nigerians, some parties produced manifestos, and a few candidates,

mainly from smaller parties, engaged in debates on issues such as the challenges of development, education policy and public infrastructure priorities. The argument that such candidates represented smaller parties and lacked any solid political base was used by candidates of more established parties to ignore issue-based campaigning during the campaign.”

“The Nigerian Election Debates Group (NEDG), a coalition of more than 20 media outlets, human rights

and pro-democracy groups, lawyers, and women’s and youth associations, organised presidential debates in early April 2007. Twenty-six candidates were invited to participate in twelve 90-minute debates held in Abuja and broadcast live on television and radio across the country. The NEDG established clear rules and guidelines for participating candidates and solicited questions from voters via e-mail.”

“Several key contenders, including PDP candidate Umaru Yar’Adua and PPA candidate Orji Kalu failed to honour commitments to participate, while AC candidate Vice President Atiku Abubakar was unable to participate due to his disqualification by INEC. However, Nigerians were able to watch other presidential candidates debate, including Muhammadu Buhari and Pat Utomi.”

5. Pre-Voting

“The impartiality, independence and effectiveness of election administrators are critical to a credible and democratic

electoral process. Actions taken by INEC in the lead-up to the elections generated concerns over INEC’s preparedness, independence and impartiality, and prospects for a transparent process.

INEC did not begin publicising details of how polling would be organised until April 8.Prior to this, INEC officials made contradictory statements about whether voting would be a day-long process or would follow the “June 12 formula,” with initial accreditation and returning to vote at a specific, limited time.”

“The convergence of INEC’s partisanship, operational incompetence and the self inflicted 11th hour crisis (caused by

INEC’s insistence on disqualifying Vice-President Abubakar and the Supreme Court’s decision on 16th April ordering that he be returned to the ballot) turned logistics to a nightmare.”

6. Voting

“The travesty was so monumental in its completeness that words, even the word “rigging” are inadequate to describe it. It

would simply be an abuse of language to use any of the epithets ‘free’, ‘fair’, or ‘credible’ in connection with the charade that took place in Nigeria on the 14th and 21st of April 2007.”

“We called up this meeting purposely to share with you local chiefs…and to tell you people that I the Governor of Osun State Olagunsoye

Oyinlola is ready to supply all the 16 LG with armed men, particularly the affected 10 LG Chairmen where

the election will be conducted with army uniform and arms and ammunition which you people will give to your supporters who will camouflage like Army…at each voting centre. This will aid them in rigging the elections by intimidating the voters not to come out to vote. The only people that will come out will be the PDP so that the victory of Segun Oni will be ascertained…”

“At the stage of actual voting, the well-armed political thugs scare off, maim and kill citizens (sometimes policemen) in order to snatch ballot boxes.”

7. Collating

“In addition we secured the services of the foremost Israeli finger print expert who supervised a team of 10 other experts, who

essentially cross checked some of the work being done in the UK and did some work of their own. Working together daily for almost 3 months, the experts compared almost a million ballot papers to discover multiple thumb printing. In each of the states surveyed, they discovered, shocking evidence of extensive multiple thumb printing – one or two people, maximum 5, thumb printing hundreds and thousands in some

locations! In some locations in Osun state, especially Ife, constituencies the experts found that over 80% of votes cast for PDP in the gubernatorial and senatorial HOA were multiple thumb prints. In Ekiti, for the contested local governments, there were 30,000 multiple thumb prints of 130,000 PDP’s votes.”

“Given the crucial role of the police in protecting the ballot boxes on their way from the polling booth to the collating centre, this is where they

can most easily collude in the manipulation…”

8. Counting

“Falsification of results on the other hand is usually effected by the returning officer and his deputy, since they receive and collate results sent

from the polling stations. In the Ondo state gubernatorial election, the NPN candidate Chief Akin Omoboriowo was declared elected by the Electoral Commission with 1,228,891 votes as against 1,015,385 votes credited to Chief Michael Ajasin the UPN candidate. The court

found that from evidence of the polling and party agents and certification of results signed by assistant returning officers, that Chief Michael Ajasin actually had 1,563,327 votes and Chief Omoboriowo 703,592. Chief Omoboriowo’s score was inflated by 525,389 votes, while Chief Michael Ajasin’s score was decreased by 547,942 votes. The falsification was done at the level of the deputy returning officer.”

9. Declaration

“Another great encourager of rigging is the astonishing idea that the Governor or President whose election was annulled, but who subsequently

won elections should regardless of the period they had spent before the annulment, begin a fresh term of 4 years once sworn in again after the new elections. This is a most perverse idea, especially because the period spent is a period in which all his acts are deemed valid. He signs contracts, binds the state, even takes a salary, why should a mere swearing-in after a fresh election have the effect of ignoring the legal situation immediately preceding it and create a new term?”

“Election day violence was followed by public protests in many states as INEC announced results mostly in favor of the PDP that in some

cases were at odds with anticipated results. In some instances, INEC’s national headquarters announced results, whereas this responsibility was supposed to have fallen to the Residential Electoral Commissioners (REC), who served as chief returning officers for the gubernatorial elections. In Delta State, the results were declared in Abuja before the collation and counting of votes had finished in the state.”

Reaching Conclusions

Many themes emerged as we continued to develop the system framework. Many ideas for what to do next. Much debate about what to ‘Stay doing’, what to ‘Start doing differently’ and what must ‘Stop’ – the big questions are therefore: What must we do and How do we do it?

Among the big thoughts are a few that are massively interlinked. As in all ‘living systems’ these are highly implicated and multiply causal. Everything we heard was either a stated issue or a clue to a solution. Phrasing what we heard either way is readily appreciable as you look at the detail in the framework.

1. Clarity of each standing party and the issues they are fighting for

2. Anything less than transparency is wholly unacceptable and punishable by effective law

3. Social Media must become a platform for the collective conscience

4. Recognition that this is every Nigerians responsibility and that now is the time to stand up and be counted 5. Making Politics and The Security & Administration systems different things and separated in EVERY sense 6. Redefining and consolidating all the findings of the workshop into a new Nigerian Electoral System Version 2,0 (NES V 2.0) Blueprint for possible inclusion into constitution

A Framework for the Future

We can use the valuable research and the lessons that they, and the group’s personal observation, teach us to build a new model within which this system can operate effectively.

A Framework for the Future

There are a number of components to this living system that must be in place in order for it to address the issues of the past – and these components all need to interoperate and co-exist with the appropriate governance in place – and working because it makes sense to apply these rules – to everyone.

To begin with there are some imperatives. We describe these as individual things that – if addressed – would deliver a new system for the country:

- Educate the electorate/people- Equip the administration- Change attitudes- Redefine the legal framework- Govern the system- Establish identity and purpose

There are core principles and values that have to be shared by everyone working within this system:

- Objectivity- Integrity- Clarity- Appreciation- Ownership- Equality

- Transparency- Motivation- Meaning- Relevance- Mutuality

A living system can’t be built from rigid process and rules, and yet needs to be able to govern and interoperate. A living system is essentially self governing and it adapts to the changing environment but is always working at both the individual part and the collective level. There is an implied sequence and order that has to be present in this Blueprint – just as there is one in a natural living system:

Purpose – the reason that this matters to everyone – it is almost the Manifesto and includes mission, identity and aspiration/ambition. There has to be a common purpose for the system to function as a system. Without this the following can’t emerge in a unified manner.

Promise – the covenant that everyone signs up to and that will form the basis for governance. This will be articulated through an objective and transparent legal framework, operating principles, measurement etc. Nigeria has a Pledge already – this would add meaning to that Pledge.

Culture – the shared identify and values that unite the system. This requires an understanding of what motivates each member and appreciation of how they view the system and its purpose.

Which then takes Us to the Blueprint for the New System

Contribution – every member of the system has a part to play and each must be very clear what that is. That means an unpacking of the manifesto above to individual and group responsibilities that all add up to achieving the Purpose.

Leadership – at many levels. There needs to be clear direction and accountability to make this happen. But this doesn’t sit in specific areas. There will be leadership spanning all contributions. This will show up in the administration of the system’s core processes, the governance of that promise across contributions and the enforcement of consequences when the system is compromised.

Exchange – sharing across stakeholders to enable contribution to collectively achieve its purpose, to communicate effectively across stakeholders and in a variety of ways, to continually build awareness and capture insights and learning so that the system is able to evolve and adapt.

Organisation – the stakeholders in the system have to be adequately equipped to fulfil their promises and deliver their contributions. This means capability, skills, equipment, platforms and infrastructure. Until the contribution, promise and purpose are clear to everyone the organisation of the system is sub optimal. Within the organisation is the ability to adapt and refine and pass the changes to the system back through the ‘chain’.

Which then takes Us to the Blueprint for the New System

We hope that these insights and this event have a positive impact on the next Election but this is not the end of the journey.

Sustaining change means owning each part as much as the whole. As you look at the system of anything it becomes massively detailed. This is at the root of why change is so tough. This means everybody has to deeply understand the role of their ‘bit’ in achieving the big picture. Not easy at a distance and therefore communication and camaraderie become big dimensions. The individual’s task must not be allowed to feel lonely or any less important. Passion for the simplest thing is as vital as the most complex.

Now that we have looked backwards we can look forwards with clarity and understanding.

We can define the outputs but the outcomes are with all of us – it is for Nigerians to decide what to do with this new way of looking at our system.The moment we look at Nigeria as a system we can go beyond the process of elections and think about democratic governance.

Citizen or Indigene? Rights’ or Rights with Responsibility?

We are at a turning point that can soon become a breaking point. There are a lot of angry people. We have allowed the system to define lives.

We think Nigeria is unique – it isn’t. We are typical of all African states.

Are we willing and able to stand on the side lines in this election – and abdicate this responsibility? Whatever we do it has to be as a collective. We have allowed ourselves to be divided into camps – religious, gender, disability, political. Whatever we do, we do as a group and do it intelligently.

The Journey must Continue

The Journey must Continue

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Epilogue“The workshop was deeply revealing and transforming.”Charles-Iyoha Christiana, PolDeC, Lagos.

“I learnt another dimension to problem identification and solving without adopting other high technical approaches to complexity like the Checklands Soft System Methodology. The dimension is user/Nigerian friendly and century compliant.”Chima Jeff Megwei, Port-Harcourt.

“The workshop was a lifetime experience. I have never participated in a workshop that took my breath from the beginning to the end. I didn’t want to blink to lose out.”Erisa Danladi, Gombe State.

“It impresses me that at this great event, individual opinion was accommodated.” Comrade Joel Samuel Feyisola, SPYA, Ondo State.

“I particularly acknowledge the gifted hands of the organizers and facilitators of this event. Thank you for choosing us to be part of the forum. May God crown your endeavour. I look forward to brighter days and hope we can do something in Osun for our people.“Bamidele Timothy Olusola, Federal Radio Corporations Nigeria,Gold 95.5 FM, Ilesha, Osun State.

“Must confess that I have never had such successful conference in my whole life, the organisers kudos to you all even as we look forward to the implementation of it, thanks...” Mfon Ebong, Kastina State.

“I strongly believe that the experiences gained so far will assist us more in contributing our quotas to nation building, good governance, developing democratic values and importantly, achieving free and fair general elections come April 2011. Honestly, it was a good experience and I hope we will consolidate our shared vision for a better Nigeria. YES, WE CAN!!!”Hon. Isiaka Olamilekan Popoola, Member, Nigerian Youth Parliament, Abuja.

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“The workshop was enlightening and revealing of the many characters, behaviours and actors often overlooked in our approach to preventing election rigging. The no holds barred feedback from participants and genuine courage displayed by team leads who spoke demonstrated that we all were in support of the end of election rigging.” Thank you for the visual thinking approach. It puts things in clear perspective.Omotola Fawunmi, Project Stretch, Lagos.

“It was richly unique; it opened me up to electoral issues I know not of. It has prepared me better to actively participate in election observation better than I had done in the past, the video I got from the event have helped me at reaching out to youth groups at the grass-root, it helped us initiate and meaningfully engage the youth groups, though not all youth groups love to have us play the video and talk without drinks and eating, we tried talking to them, but in all it was a great experience during and after the event at Lagos and the few step down we did in Delta State.” Comrade Okonta Emeka Okelum, Asaba Development Union,Delta State.

“The workshop was a forum of intellectuals who showed their interests in Nigeria with passion as displayed in their zeal to ensure that solutions are proffered to the recurring problem of electoral fraud in the country. The stakeholders of whom I was one took turns to highlight the causes of election rigging using both the Bottom-Top and Top-Bottom approaches to dig into the problems and the way forward. Part of the resolutions include poverty eradication, shunning of moneybag politics and adequate enlightenment of the electorate by the media among others. On the part of the Organizers, it was a forum to always remember as they provided the needed conducive environment for participants to brainstorm meaningfully.” Bardi Adebukola Josephine, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Ondo State.

...Thank You

Many, if not all, participants signed the wall and made their feeling clear. Everyone agreed that this should continue. This is the start of new ownership and opportunity.

Nigeria National Anthem - “Arise,O Compatriots”

Arise, O compatriots,Nigeria’s call obeyTo serve our fatherlandWith love and strength and faith.The labour of our heroes pastShall never be in vain,To serve with heart and mightOne nation bound in freedom, peace and unity.

O God of creation,Direct our noble cause;Guide our leaders right:Help our youth the truth to know,In love and honesty to grow,And living just and true,Great lofty heights attain,To build a nation where peace and justice shall reign.

We found the singing of the Nigeria Anthem extremely moving – and discovered a second stanza that sums this up better than anything we could write.

WANGONeT

7 Raymond Street, Off Commercial Avenue,Sabo-Yaba, Lagos Nigeria.

+234 (0) 08033230587(Tunji) +234 (0) 07062717777(Peter)

www.wangonet.orgwww.dfid.gov.ukwww.nigeriaelections.org